Why Are Hedge Funds Looking at Crypto Platforms? Binance Exec Explains 24/7 Trading

Binance executive Catherine Chen said traditional hedge funds are increasingly exploring crypto platforms for arbitrage opportunities.

In an interview with The Block at Token2049, Chen said funds were interested in arbitrage opportunities linked to stocks and perpetual futures. She cited growing market depth, 24/7 trading and weekend price discovery among the factors making these trades more attractive.

According to Chen, funds struggled to pursue these opportunities on smaller platforms, where liquidity in the same instruments was insufficient, and through decentralized finance (DeFi) services.

TradFi trading volume has grown on Binance

According to Binance data shared by Chen, trading volume in perpetual futures based on traditional financial instruments was around $20–30 billion per month at launch early in the year, and recently reached approximately $400 billion over a 30-day period. Assets under management in stock products also rose from approximately $800–900 million to $1.4 billion.

Chen said institutional interest was still at an early stage and that she did not expect trading flows to surge overnight. She said she would be watching activity in the space over the next 12–18 months.

Chen added that crypto-focused investors were also adding instruments tied to traditional financial products to their portfolios, and said regulatory clarity would be decisive in bringing the two markets closer together.